I took the SAT in January and got the score I needed, but a friend of mine didn’t do so well.1730 or something similar.
She’s very bright-a top 3-4% student at our school-but just did horribly on the SAT (and even worse on the PLAN, so the ACT is out). Apparently she doesn’t test well.
She’s now worried that this score will affect her chances at Yale, which is her dream school. I know Yale, unlike most of the Ivies, doesn’t superscore and instead considers all scores. If my friend manages to raise her score to 2200-2300 with more prep (which she’s taking very seriously), will this very low first score be a problem?
She will not get into Yale with that score. There are some first-rate test-optional colleges, like Wesleyan and Bowdoin, which she should be looking at very seriously. She should prep and re-take the SAT, and try the ACT, but she should not attach her hopes to an implausible score increase. Only an infinitesimal percentage of students who retake the SAT show increases of that magnitude (and I think they’re all here on CC). She will have surpassed the average if she breaks 1800. She certainly should not sacrifice other activities or interests in order to chase down a chimerical score increase. If she were, for instance, to quit a varsity sport or a leadership position in order to attend a SAT prep class, it would lessen her prospects at the selective test-optional schools without the likelihood of bringing her scores up to a level where she would be competitive for Yale. The test-optional schools are holistic in admissions. They are not looking for students who are score-obsessed.
@woogzmama
If that’s the case, so be it. I think this is a student who might raise her score more than most, because she took the test for the first time with minimal preparation before her first sitting and is now devoting 2-3 hours a week to preparing, in addition to working with a tutoring service (she’s working harder than I ever did, which makes me feel almost guilty). But even she admits that a 500-point increase seems daunting.
Since she’s going to make another attempt regardless, here’s a hypothetical. Extremely unlikely, I know, but bear with me.
What if her second score is a 2200 or 2250? Then, how much will that score in the low 1700s matter at Yale (or any other top school)?
I think that a college like Yale, if it requires a complete score history, could view the discrepancy from two different perspectives. They might be impressed by her obvious determination, or decide that the first score was an aberration. On the other hand, if she appears to have withdrawn from other activities in order to prioritize test preparation, they will not be as favorably impressed. They have thousands of highly qualified students to select from, and will prefer the student who obtained high test scores without sacrificing other commitments. That’s why I have said that a lack of ECs will harm affluent, suburban kids who can’t show solid reasons not to have participated: it will be suspected that they dedicated their after-school time to tutoring and test prep. The very top colleges are so selective that they don’t have to worry about stats. Their admitted students will have exceptional stats.
@woogzmama
Ok, thanks for the reply.
So far as I know, she hasn’t dropped any extracurriculars for tutoring, and those are generally very strong. At this point, I suppose all that remains is to hope that she scores much higher in May and colleges are impressed by her determination rather than dismissive of the second score.
This is a bit of a digression, but predicaments like this are why I have nothing but disdain for standardized testing. I’m glad I don’t need to retake the SAT I, and I can’t wait until I’m done with the subject tests.
Good luck to both of you. I hope that she checks out fairtest.org. Some very elite colleges are now test-optional, and I suspect she would be better off aiming for some of them.
She doesn’t have to send that score…
@0br0123
If only. Yale has a policy of asking for all SAT scores, and they don’t superscore.
@woogzmama - I thought the average SAT was just below 1500?
@fizzy110 - Are you talking about Yale’s average, or the national average. Yale’s 2-test (ie. Critical Reading + Math) average might be 1500 (out of 1600), but the scores cited by OP were for 3 tests (out of 2400). An “average” student has no chance of admission to Yale.
@woogzmama I meant national average - I thought that was what you were referring to when you said (in your first post) if she breaks 1800, she would have surpassed the average. However I think I understand: you were referring to the average score increase.
" An “average” student has no chance of admission to Yale." Haha, trust me I know that through and through.
OK - I see where the confusion occurred. You are correct; I was referring to an average score increase.